French national team coach Zidane held a press conference to announce his first squad list since taking office and answered questions from the media present. This article is the fifth part of the press conference.

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Zidane: Mbappé remains captain; I won't get caught up in Ballon d'Or talk

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Zidane: I don't deliberately restrict players' outfits in interviews, but don't exaggerate either

Zidane: Jacquet and Lemerre deeply influenced me; I've chosen four captains for the team

Recently in Spain, Mbappé and Konaté became embroiled in a media storm over politically charged clothing. Meanwhile, French Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner publicly expressed concerns about the current political environment, while Olympic swimming champion Léon Marchand clearly chose to remain neutral on political issues and refused to comment. With France's 2027 presidential election approaching, as a sports superstar and national team coach with significant social influence, do you feel you need to play a certain role and exert influence in France's political or social context in 2027?

No, absolutely not. My sole responsibility is to dedicate myself entirely to my role as French national team coach, and this will not change no matter what happens. Of course, as an ordinary French citizen like everyone else, I have my own values and thoughts about society and our country. However, whether to publicly express personal political views to the public is entirely a matter of personal freedom, and I have no intention to interfere or judge. For myself, I will focus all my energy solely on my position—leading the French national team well.

Hello Zinedine, during your playing days you were one of the greatest classical number 10s in sports history. How do you assess the technical characteristics of young player Rayan Cherki? In modern football's emphasis on physicality and speed, traditional attacking midfielders are increasingly rare, yet he still carves out a place with his unique style of play...

It's wonderful that this type of player hasn't become extinct! Thank goodness, truly something to be grateful for—yes, it's excellent. As you said, Cherki is a pure, traditional number 10. He has the ability to receive the ball comfortably in the small spaces between the opponent's defensive and midfield lines, and possesses excellent technique for turning and evading when pressing with his back to goal, with intelligent and creative play. Overall, this is exactly the type of player I personally admire and love. Now, we can take advantage of these valuable 15 days of training to properly integrate and coach him on the training pitch.

Hello Zinedine, I'd like to ask about young player Jérémy Frimpong. He is one of the most standout newcomers in your first squad list since taking over the French team. How do you assess his tactical attributes and his rapid recent development? After joining Liverpool this season, his performances in the Premier League and other competitions have been extremely impressive...

Yes, frankly speaking, I personally have great appreciation and optimism about his technical qualities. In fact, I've been following him for a long time because he was teammates with my son in the youth academy in the early years, so I'm very familiar with his development trajectory at every stage. Given the solid foundation he built in the past and his excellent current form at his club, calling him up to the French national team now is a natural and logical decision. Overall, he's a very talented young defender with great potential.

Question from a COPE reporter from Spain: Hello Zinedine, at Real Madrid, Mbappé has recently faced considerable criticism from the public. It's widely believed that his defensive contribution is extremely insufficient. My question is, since taking over the French national team, do you require him to put in the same defensive effort as other players? Are you confident you can convince him to actively take on defensive responsibility?

French Football Federation Press Secretary: Please wait a moment. First, let me provide a French translation of this question for our French journalist colleagues who don't understand Spanish. Mr. Zidane, you speak two or even three languages—could you please repeat what he just asked?

Ah, he actually asked... sorry, I thought there would be a dedicated simultaneous interpreter here to translate. (Laughter from the audience)

French Football Federation Press Secretary: No, no, I can translate, though perhaps not professionally...

No problem. The gist of his question is: Does Kylian Mbappé need to take on corresponding defensive responsibility within our team's overall defensive system? Because he's currently facing criticism from the public in Spain, where people generally believe his defensive contribution at Real Madrid isn't high enough.

But frankly, this is a completely flawed premise that's been blown out of proportion. In my view, managing him is no different from managing any other player on the team. A football team operates in two phases—with the ball and without the ball. When the team loses possession, everyone must work hard to run and defend, completing their corresponding tactical responsibilities. And for Kylian Mbappé, actively participating in defensive duties without the ball like everyone else will not be an issue whatsoever. I've always seen this as a flawed premise; our coaching staff simply needs to clearly and accurately communicate our tactical intentions to him. That's all there is to it.

Hello Zinedine, I'd like to ask about your philosophy in building the national team squad: Is your core objective to create a highly cohesive, tightly unified tactical system, or do you prefer to gather top talented players and then explore and integrate them on the pitch?

No, certainly it's not a simple choice between the two. I have an excellent and professional coaching staff, and over the past two months, my assistants and I have prepared and carefully vetted this squad list. There are similarities and differences between building a national team and building a club team: at a club, you're sometimes constrained by existing player contracts and lack room for adjustment; but with a national team, I have complete freedom in selecting players.

So our selection process is not a blind accumulation of star players, but a meticulously evaluated process focused on the team's tactical balance and logical complementarity between positions. This is an extremely demanding, detailed, and refined technical task, and it's work to which my coaching staff and I have dedicated considerable effort. We have a squad of high-quality, excellent players, and our core mission is to integrate them perfectly, enabling them to perform at the highest level of coordination on the pitch.

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